Wet weather sets back burning program

Rain and snow came too thick and fast for Forest Service crews who are trying to burn up the brush piles along Highway 20.

Fire crews needed some precipitation so that burn piles wouldn't flame too hot and intense, scorching the soil beneath and spreading to other forest undergrowth. But the combination of rain and snow that started on Tuesday, October 26, and continued through Thursday was more than they wanted.

"We got too much, too soon, too fast," said Mark Rapp, Sisters Ranger District assistant fire management officer. "It's definitely going to slow us down, but we're going forward with our burn program."

Crews were to burn through the weekend, starting at higher elevations in the Santiam Pass area and working their way east toward Sisters. Weather forecasts indicate that they may get a break in the weather that will allow them to get the piles burned before winter stifles the operation.

"We're really hoping for a dry spell before winter really sets in," Rapp said. "What we're waiting for is some nice, frosty, cold nights (that) will draw some of that moisture out and actually freeze dry (the brush piles)."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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